Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Instagram – On the request of a few ladies, I am sharing my menopausal journey here, kindly note each one has a different experience and family support is absolutely essential! I didn’t know what was going on for the first 3/4 years, it was too early for me to expect menopause!! It was 2004/2005, Our daughters were in a very crucial stage in life ; in their teens 😍 The toughest part was to have the patience to tackle teenage challenges, Ram was around twice in a year and the rest of the time I had to manage. Parents were above 80 yrs and they needed help. I had hot flushes, weight gain, heavy bleeding and irregular cycles. My body ached and my joints were swollen. I had to literally drag myself to do things, but all of us do that!!!! Wish I had more awareness, it could been little smoother for the kids. My temper was many times out of control. What helped was my creative work, I got distracted from my health issues. I didn’t want to give up. My doctor initially told me the cysts in my uterus have to be removed. Ram and I were not too keen on another surgery, already had 3 Caesarian sections. But later on she said, we shall wait, sometimes, if it is menopause, the cysts will shrink on their own and the heavy bleeding would stop. And it did!!! That was the time I entered Cinema, while directing Aarohanam , my cycles had stopped, but menopausal symptoms were still there. My team had lot of issues dealing with my temper!!! I had to work overtime, almost 18 hours a day with no sleep, mind was always preoccupied. I used to take ‘red bull’ in the sets to overcome my tiredness, but that was vv wrong, I later found out it was causing more damage. We have to go for healthier options. If you see the pics taken during that time, I was 85 kgs!!! My thyroid levels were haywire , bp was around 189/110 . But, by that time I was reading a lot on menopause. Had lots of veggies and nuts though I binged at times. My calcium and iron levels were good because of the nutritious food and I started walking barefooted and it helped a lot, my joint pain reduced!!! Had lots of hot water to drink. Communication with husband & kids was good and asked for professional he when needed.